a) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a tubular probe channel usable in endoscopy and made from a flexible material, for flexible auxiliary instruments such as forceps, electrodes and the like to be passed through into cavities, and for feeding in and draining out irrigating liquid.
b) Description of the Prior Art
Tubular channels of this kind are a familiar part of the prior art in practice. Thus, what are normally used for the purposes quoted are highly flexible tubes of plastics material, but these do have certain disadvantages. There is for example a risk that they will collapse when suction is applied for cleaning purposes, or alternatively they may be damaged by pressures above atmospheric. What is more, there is a danger with highly flexible materials that they may be damaged when a sharp-edged and less flexible article, such as a forceps or the like, is inserted, due to the fact that articles of this kind find it difficult to follow the flexible tubular channel and apply stress to it in the lateral direction and may possibly even pierce it as they do so.
To alleviate these disadvantages, known tubular channels of this kind have been fitted with additional metal coils but this makes the channel, and particularly its distal end, more difficult to deflect.
The main object of the present invention is to design a tubular channel which on the one hand is of relatively high flexibility but on the other hand is sufficiently strong for damage of the kind described above not to occur.